New Artificial Reef for Southwest Florida to be Scuttled July 2
Mohawk Wreck New Artificial Reef for Scuba Divers in Southwest Florida
Former Coast Guard cutter Mohawk will be sunk to create an artificial reef for scuba diving in Southwest Florida
Brian Hirten/The News-Press
Having once fought in World War II, the ex-United States Coast Guard Cutter Mohawk will serve its final duty as an artificial reef off Sanibel Island in Lee County, Florida. Reinstalled guns, intact propeller and smokestack that opens to the engine room (for trained divers only), are just part of what will make the Mohawk Veterans Memorial Reef a world-class dive. Add the goliath grouper expected to take residence in the wreck, and you’ve got yourself what Joe Weatherby, Reefmakers’ director of marketing, calls a “one-of-a-kind photographic opportunity.”
Weather permitting, the scuttling event will take place at 11 a.m., July 2.
Mohawk Veterans Memorial Reef
Type: former U.S. Coast Guard Cutter
LOA: 165 feet
Planned Location: 26 miles off Sanibel Island, Florida
Estimated Depth: 90 feet
Dates of Service: Jan. 19, 1935 – Jan. 8, 1948
Career Highlights: Served with Greenland Patrol during World War II, fought in 14 U-Boat engagements, saved sailors who had been torpedoed in the North Atlantic, was the last ship to radio in the weather to General Dwight D Eisenhower before the D-Day invasion.
Brian Hirten/The News-PressFormer Coast Guard cutter Mohawk will be sunk to create an artificial reef for scuba diving in Southwest Florida
Having once fought in World War II, the ex-United States Coast Guard Cutter Mohawk will serve its final duty as an artificial reef off Sanibel Island in Lee County, Florida. Reinstalled guns, intact propeller and smokestack that opens to the engine room (for trained divers only), are just part of what will make the Mohawk Veterans Memorial Reef a world-class dive. Add the goliath grouper expected to take residence in the wreck, and you’ve got yourself what Joe Weatherby, Reefmakers’ director of marketing, calls a “one-of-a-kind photographic opportunity.”
Weather permitting, the scuttling event will take place at 11 a.m., July 2.
Mohawk Veterans Memorial Reef
Type: former U.S. Coast Guard Cutter
LOA: 165 feet
Planned Location: 26 miles off Sanibel Island, Florida
Estimated Depth: 90 feet
Dates of Service: Jan. 19, 1935 – Jan. 8, 1948
Career Highlights: Served with Greenland Patrol during World War II, fought in 14 U-Boat engagements, saved sailors who had been torpedoed in the North Atlantic, was the last ship to radio in the weather to General Dwight D Eisenhower before the D-Day invasion.
